By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
Gym owner calls for support to keep kids on work-out track…
JEMAL Abazi, as a man who has kept hundreds of young people on track, doesn’t ask for much.
His Albanian Eagles Youth Centre in Dandenong South has cost about $700,000 to run over the past four years but received “not a cent” of government money.
It has been propped by family, friends but chiefly by Mr Abazi himself.
His motivation is simple – look at each child as if they are your own.
“The more that come here, the more that you keep off the streets,” is his simple philosophy.
But he fears after 18 months of being “led on” by Greater Dandenong Council officers, the council is about to derail his plans to move to bigger headquarters, in a warehouse about 100 metres from the centre’s present site at 11 Bryants Road.
During that time, the successful manufacturer said he has paid $140,000 in rent for the idle proposed site.
Tonight (Monday 27 July) Greater Dandenong councillors are set to decide on whether to approve the proposal.
Officers have recommended the move be refused because of concerns about a lack of parking and excessive of noise for surrounding residents.
Two residents objected, one a neighbour of the proposed new site.
“We’ve never had problems with police or our neighbours,” Mr Abazi said.
He said the proposed site, which is an industrial one zone, could provide 30 on-site car spaces. Council officers had “underestimated” just a dozen spaces.
“They’re more concerned about parking than the welfare of our children.”
Young people who drop into the centre are free to use the gym equipment, arcade games, a pool table, table tennis table, and are offered healthy hot food cooked by volunteers.
Mr Abazi said the proposed larger centre would bring much needed extra space – separate sections for males and females to work-out, and extra table-tennis and pool tables.
It will also help entertain the overflow of visitors who mill outside the cramped current centre’s front door.
Mr Abazi said he could quickly drill down to a young person’s issue.
“I try to hold them here for as long as I can. We tire them out so they end up just going home.
“Before this centre opened, we had a huge problem with drugs, hooning, alcohol, family issues – ice is the biggest.
“You saw kids identify themselves with young people going to jail.
“I said to myself we have to do something about this. There are now so many success stories.”
Councillor Jim Memeti attested to Mr Abazi’s reputation as the go-to man for many families who are worried about their children going off the rails.
He said council planners had wrongly treated the proposal as a commercial gym that would be more suitable for an activity centre.
“It’s not a big business. This guy just tries to help people.”
